They were the sexy preseason pick as the team ready to make a move. They finished last season on a roll and started this one full of hope.
But the good feelings surrounding these Cleveland Browns didn’t even survive September, when a whipping by the Dallas Cowboys was followed by a close loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and a beating by the Baltimore Ravens.
It looked like just more of the same for a franchise that has earned only one playoff berth in nine seasons since the return of the NFL to Cleveland.
“Maybe some of us thought that things were going to be like they were last year,” said coach Romeo Crennel, who last season led Cleveland to a 10-6 record. “They didn’t realize that every year is a new year in the NFL.”
The Browns beat the winless Cincinnati Bengals 20-12 in Week 4, a victory that didn’t change the new consensus that they had been one-year wonders. And with the Super Bowl-champion New York Giants and the red-hot Washington Redskins up next, the Browns seemed destined for a 1-5 start.
The skeptics looked smart when the Giants drove 58 yards to take the lead in the second quarter Monday.
But when Cleveland got the ball back, struggling quarterback Derek Anderson and top receiver Braylon Edwards hooked up for 70 yards. Two plays later, Jamal Lewis scored on a 4-yard run. The Browns never trailed again and pulled away for a 35-14 victory in which Anderson passed for 310 yards and two touchdowns.
Anderson, cut by the Ravens as a rookie in 2005, started three games late in 2006 for the Browns with mediocre results. He rocketed to the Pro Bowl in 2007 on the strength of 29 touchdown passes. That didn’t prevent fans from clamoring for local favorite Brady Quinn, a first-round pick in the 2007 draft, when Anderson faltered last month.
“Derek didn’t worry about the fans or the media or Brady Quinn,” Edwards said of Anderson’s big night against the Giants. “He didn’t worry about outside forces. He went out there and played the way he’s capable of playing.”
Indeed, Anderson and Co. played so well that the Browns didn’t punt on any of their eight possessions, scoring five touchdowns, missing a field goal and having the half and the game run out on the other two series.
“So much was made out of the beginning of the season, anxiety and guys trying to do too much,” Edwards said. “We lost three or four guys in the preseason on offense. We lost three or four starters on defense. You got to knock the rust off and get back in sync. … You give it all you had when nobody gives you a shot.”
That won’t be the case against the Redskins, who are coming off a 19-17 loss to the previously winless St. Louis Rams.
Defensive coordinator Greg Blache raved about Edwards’ size and speed, Lewis’ power, the offensive line - which has allowed just eight sacks - and Anderson’s quick release.
Tight end Kellen Winslow returned to practiced Friday, giving the Browns yet another weapon yet another weapon with which to attack a Washington defense that will likely be without cornerback Shawn Springs. Redskins defensive end Jason Taylor, cornerbacks Carlos Rogers Fred Smoot and safety Chris Horton also missed significant practice time this week.
“You look at the whole gamut of things and you have to be very impressed with what they’ve done,” Blache said. “They’ve played some good defenses: Baltimore, Pittsburgh and the Giants. They took the world champions on and from the opening kickoff to the final gun, they physically whupped their butts. That’s the first time in all my years in the NFL that I’ve ever seen a team not punt the football.”
And yet, as Crennel and Edwards said, the Browns still are just 2-3.
“Everybody else is beginning to tell them how good they are, that they should be a playoff team now, but it’s one game,” Crennel said. “We don’t even have a winning record.”
And they still trail the Steelers and Ravens in the AFC North.
“Although we did beat a good team, we have nothing to celebrate,” Edwards said. “We’re not even at .500. We’re not sitting where we want to be.”
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